Day 1

Day 1
It's a rainy Monday at work. I not really doing anything as usual. I feel an itch to learn something or change for the better.

To try to be constructive with my time, I decided to look up information on why people become/are vegan. It's something I have been wondering for a while.

Background - I have been a vegetarian since I was 10 (for not so noble reasons - but the ends justify the means, right?) Now I can't even imagine putting a once living and breathing creature into my mouth. It's almost inhumane to even think about it. And people have asked me now and then, "Wait, does that mean you don't eat eggs and milk and stuff?" And I reassuredly would tell them "Oh no, I eat that," like I wouldn't want them to think I was one of those crazy vegans...shudder to think!

From my perspective, being a vegetarian is quite easy. You just don't eat animals. Plain and simple. Being a vegan involves research and going out of your way to understand the ramifications of everything that goes into your body. It seems like such an undertaking. And the potential of eating something on the naughty food list and then dealing with the guilt and the accusations of being a big fat liar hypocrit (I have been accused of this before when I tell people I am vegetarian) is overwhelmingly greater. I couldn't see the harm in drinking an innocent glass of milk or an egg here or there. It just didn't seem so inhumane. Eggs aren't living yet, they don't feel pain, and a cow needs to be milked - it's a natural process. So on my quest to be constructive with my time at work, I decided to look up why logical and seemingly normal people would have the urge to become vegan.

So my first stop in my research brought me here: http://veganpamphlet.com/pamphlet_home.html

and then here: http://www.exploreveg.org/issues

and then here: http://www.chooseveg.com/animal-cruelty.asp

I knew the awful things that happened in slaughter houses. I intentionally skipped those parts in the pamphlets knowing it will be painful to revisit all the reasons why I continue to be a vegetarian. But now I am thinking how in the world did ethical problems with eating dairy and eggs not occur to me sooner?

Milk -

"Dairy Cows From 1940 to 2004, average per-cow milk production rose from 2.3 to 9.5 tons per year; some cows have surpassed 30 tons. High milk production often causes udder breakdown, leading to early slaughter. It is unprofitable to keep cows alive once their milk production declines. They are usually killed at 5–6 years of age, though their normal life span exceeds 20"

Eggs -

"Egg-Laying Hens Packed in cages (typically less than half a square foot of floor space per bird), hens can become immobilized and die of asphyxiation or dehydration. Decomposing corpses are found in cages with live birds."

"To reduce losses from birds pecking each other, farmers cut a third to a half of the beaks off chickens, turkeys, and ducks. The birds suffer severe pain for weeks. Some, unable to eat afterwards, starve."

Now I am thinking how can I, as a empathetic, responsible, animal-loving human being, support such actions? It all just seems so selfish to me. Being vegan is a big statement, and the weight of proclaiming "I am vegan" scares me. But I am just going to try. And I know I will make mistakes. And I am sure I will annoy my family, my boyfriend, and maybe even my friends. But this is something that I need to try. I am turning over a new leaf.